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Tegan Teraknian
Tegan Teraknian, known variously by the aliases of Tegan Black and "Cap'n Blackshanks", is a revolutionary, a notorious pirate, and the only living descendant of the mad king Orren Teraknian. Lineage Tegan has the strongest claim by blood to inherit the throne of Sasserine, being the great-grandson of Orren Teraknian, the last king of Sasserine. Until Tegan revealed his lineage to the revolutionary leaders of Sasserine in the revolution of 1985, royal historians had thought that Orren Teraknian's line had died out, but Tegan was able to present an ancestral dagger which proves his lineage, as confirmed by Annah Teranaki of the Church of Wee Jas. The dagger has been passed down through the generations to Tegan, along with a book maintained by the scribes of the Chivalric Order of the Odd Stocking, which contains valuable and entertaining historical information about how the Fellow Soldiers of the order have fought to preserve the royal line over the past century. Background Tegan had a sheltered childhood, raised by the Fellow Soldiers of the Odd Stocking in their hidden stronghold near the confluence of the Tiger River. When he was only 13, his mother and father led most of the knights of the order on an ill-advised expedition into the Mocotan Jungle, from which only a few injured knights returned alive. The few remaining knights trained Tegan in archery and woodsman's skills from a young age, taking him into the forest and onto the river to steal supplies from passing Albaidan merchants. When Tegan came of age, the knights revealed to him that he was the heir to the throne of Sasserine, and being an idealistic sort he swore to reclaim the throne by any means necessary. Years of raiding convoys and river barges did not yield enough money to raise an army, so Tegan left the stronghold and headed to Kraken's Cove, where he hoped to acquire a ship, assemble a motley crew, and start attacking Albaidan treasure galleons. After being rudely acquainted with the harsh realities of pirate life, Tegan started making money by doing archery tricks in a tavern, until he was hired as a lieutenant by a pirate known as Stankbeard, captain of the Lingering Malady. Tegan sailed with Stankbeard for less than a year before the crew realised that Tegan was a lot nicer and more impressionable than Stankbeard, and tended to financially overcompensate people for relatively minor favours. At this point they mutinied, marooned Stankbeard on an island, and declared that Tegan was their new captain. At their suggestion, Tegan rewarded them by raising their cut of the loot. Tegan sailed as captain of the ''Lingering Malady ''for five years, preying on Albaidan galleons and amassing a small fortune in gold. He acquired a modest reputation as a pirate, but lacked any defining physical characteristics such as a pegged leg or black beard that might aid him in acquiring a fearsome pirate nickname. Eventually the Albaidan heralds had to settle for calling him 'Blackshanks', because of the black stockings he wore into battle. He became enough of an annoyance that the Viceregal government put a price on his head, at which point it became impossible for the ''Lingering Malady ''to make port at Kraken's Cove, or he would have been captured and turned into the authorities by other pirates. After several weeks of starving on the high seas his crew decided to cash in on the bounty, realising that they could make even more money by handing him over than they could from exploiting his generosity. Tegan was arrested by Baron Raymondo and made prisoner in Sasserine for several months, until he escaped in a swashbuckling fashion while dressed as a washer-woman. His time in prison was sufficiently unpleasant that he swore mortal vengeance on Baron Raymondo, Augustine Meravanchi, and the Viceroy, though none of them would remember who he was when it came time for him to settle his score several years later. After escaping, Tegan returned to the Tiger River Citadel only to find it abandoned. He spent several more years living in the forest as a hermit. Recent Events At the start of the revolution of 1985, Tegan hurried to Cauldron and made his presence known to the leaders of the revolution. During the destruction of Cauldron Castle, Tegan was in the right place at the right time to accept the surrender of Augustine Meravanchi Jr., getting most of the glory. Journeying with a motley band of adventurers to Sasserine, Tegan helped to weaken the city's defences whilst trying to make political allies for himself among the city's leaders. Once the city was attacked he commandeered a fishing boat and sailed into battle with the Baron Raymondo, quickly capturing the baron and setting fire to his ship. By the end of the battle he had commandeered the Viceroy's ship, rechristened it the ''Sweet Vengeance, ''and raised the flag of the Teraknians over the mainmast, sailing majestically to Castle Teraknian. He played a role in the death of the Viceroy Diego Montego d'Albaida, after which he publicly revealed his lineage. Since then, Tegan has been frustrated by the confusing transitional politics in Sasserine, having always assumed that the common people would rejoice at his return and beg him to take the throne. He has worked hard to restore his reputation after inadvertently bankrolling a cartel and causing a city wide general strike, making ties with religious leaders (most notably Annah Teranaki) and cultivating the romantic image of himself as a prodigal son making his messianic return. He has commissioned dramatic paintings of himself slaying the Viceroy's pet wyvern and receiving Tina Meravanchi's sword in the ruins of Cauldron Castle, as well as paying for several popular ballads to be written about his bravery during the revolution. He is worried that the motley adventurers with whom he fought during the battle might offer up alternative narratives, and is considering taking steps to ensure their silence. It is his hope that he will win over the hearts of the people, brushing aside the intellectual criticism of the republicans and the might of Tetra Teraknian's pirate fleet with good old fashioned popular mandate and divine right to rule. Tegan was last seen charging around Featherwhisper's Bathhouse, brandishing his sword and raving about an octopus. To contend with growing republican sentiments in Sasserine, Tegan has stepped up his game, hiring a colourful entourage of liveried buglers, lute-players, fire-eaters, jugglers, shapeshifters, and other attendants to follow him wherever he goes in the city, in the hope of wooing the crowds. He has also been considering the merits of improving his image by doing traditionally Kingly things like leading crusades into the forest or finding a nearby dragon to vanquish. Category:Player Character Category:House Teraknian Category:Male Category:Human Category:Ranger